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Wednesday, April 3, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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Editorial…
Examining the sheep’s liver
One of the main takeaways from the con-
clusion of Robert Mueller9s <Russia investiga-
tion= is that the national media 4 especially
the cable TV news networks 4 are not serving
the Republic well.
For nearly two years, commentators and
panels convened nightly to pick over the daily
dose of <breaking news= from the Mueller
investigation, acting for all the world like a
coven of Roman Haruspices studying the liver
of a sheep to divine the future.
And they were just about as effective.
CNN and MSNBC look particularly ridicu-
lous at the moment. Their rooting interest in
the outcome of the Mueller investigation was
as transparent as the much-derided in-the-tank
bias of Fox News. Having speculated end-
lessly and breathlessly for months and months
about the potentially explosive, presidency-
imperiling revelations that must surely be at
hand, they were completely unprepared to deal
with a damp squib, which is pretty much what
they got.
MSNBC instantly lost some 500,000 view-
ers, who must have felt like they had been
watching Geraldo Rivera uncover Al Capone9s
secret vault. Or, as columnist Rich Lowry
notes, <it9s also possible that the Mueller
disappointment drove loyal viewers away in
much the same way that people avoid look-
ing at their 401(k)s when the stock market is
down.=
<We don9t have anything new on the Russia
investigation tonight and it would be irrespon-
sible to merely speculate; we9ll get back to
you when we have something substantive to
report= doesn9t fill the voracious maw of the
24-hour news cycle, and it probably isn9t good
for ratings either. Nor, apparently, is simply
reporting the news. The pressures are under-
standable 4 but the ultimate result is that,
despite a daily torrent of <information,= we are
probably less well-informed now than we were
when we got our TV news from a half-hour
nightly newscast.
The big push now is to insist that Attorney
General Barr release the full Mueller report.
And he must. We paid for it, after all; it
belongs to us and we should read it for our-
selves. Download it, study it, mull its implica-
tions 4 then head on down to your favorite
Sisters watering hole and hash it over with
your friends. It9ll be a lot more edifying than
watching Chris Cuomo or Rachel Maddow
examine the pigeon entrails and pronounce
upon the nature of the Emperor9s destiny.
Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Letters to the Editor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer9s name, address and phone number. Let-
ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor.
The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be
no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday.
To the Editor:
If you did not get the chance to attend
the BendTED X on Saturday, March 30 you
missed a very inspired speech from a local stu-
dent at Sisters High School. Wyatt Hernandez
retold his personal story of suffering through
and recovering from a concussion he received
while playing football.
After a long recovery he realized the pas-
sion that he still had for playing football and
the importance of the sport in his life. It takes
grit to put aside fears after a traumatic injury,
and this young man came back to play again
as the team9s kicker. More importantly Wyatt
has become much more than just a cautionary
tale 4 he has become an advocate for rec-
ognizing the great benefits of the sport while
pressing for safety advances, rule changes that
See LETTERS on page 25
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The Nugget Newspaper, LLC
Website: www.nuggetnews.com
442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759
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The Nugget Newspaper,
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Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius
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N
Does our voice
really matter?
By Arthur Pope
Guest Columnist
I have followed plans by
the Forest Service to limit
public access to three of Ore-
gon9s most popular wilder-
ness areas for years. The Cas-
cade Wilderness Strategies
Project is intended to protect
the wilderness from overuse
by controlling public access.
The public comment pro-
cess for this proposal has
stretched over three years
and for me, involved attend-
ing four meetings and sub-
mitting four lengthy com-
ment letters. Over the years,
many comments have been
submitted; few supporting
the implementation of a fee-
based, limited-entry, permit
system that will keep many
of us out of our local wilder-
ness areas.
The process has left me
frustrated and wanting to
lash out and vent my feel-
ings. However, I live in Sis-
ters. I have read too many
letters and commentaries in
The Nugget from unhappy,
antagonistic, mean-spirited,
people willing to attack their
neighbors, stretch the facts
4 or make up their own.
These people have taught me
something valuable: I don9t
want to be like them. I am
deeply frustrated but want
to be civil, respectful and as
factual as possible.
My frustration comes
from a process that sucks up
huge amounts of time and
leads one to believe that their
opinion truly matters. Realis-
tically, one should know bet-
ter. You know it isn9t a vote;
you know that an agency is
required to collect comments
but not required to act on
those comments. You know
sometimes this can even be
a good thing. Nevertheless, it
is frustrating.
The Forest Service
recently released a memo
detailing changes prompted
by public comment. There
are only three. One changes
the end of the permit season
by a few days; from the end
of September to the last Fri-
day in September. Another
adds 11 trailheads to the list
of those not requiring per-
mits. (But still requiring a
Wilderness Stewardship
Fee). Lastly, a pass restrict-
ing travel between one wil-
derness and another has been
dropped.
That9s it. That9s all that
came out of the time, effort
and energy from the doz-
ens and dozens of dedicated
people who followed the pro-
cess from day one.
The Forest Service has
steadfastly refused to discuss
the budget for this project or
address its financial impacts
on users. They say any dis-
cussion of fees can take place
only after the program is
implemented. What? Why?
Frankly, it seems the agency
is being less than forthcom-
ing in refusing to openly
address the financial impacts
of this project.
The document recently
released does little to dispel
my frustration at this lack
of openness. It references a
Wilderness Stewardship Fee.
This seems to indicate users
will be charged two fees; a
permit application fee and
the newly announced Wilder-
ness Stewardship Fee. Why?
Perhaps because this second
fee will assure that day hik-
ers, hiking on trails that do
not require a permit, pay for
their hike as well.
Wilderness Stewardship
Fee. It has a nice ring but I
am afraid the Cascade Wil-
derness Strategies Project is
more about fees than stew-
ardship. Perhaps I am wrong.
I would like to be. I would
like to imagine the agency is
deeply and truly concerned
about and protecting wilder-
ness values, but past actions
give rise to bothersome
questions.
Why did an agency con-
cerned about protecting wil-
derness values push to alter
natural ecosystems in the
Mount Washington Wilder-
ness by using helicopters
to set fires? Why do staff
allow non-native fish to be
stocked in wilderness lakes
to compete with endemic
populations? Why does an
agency promoting a pack-
it-in, pack-it-out ethos leave
the trash from burned-out
lookouts dotting the wilder-
ness? Why do staff allow
snowmobiles to destroy the
solitude of a skier9s wilder-
ness experience?
Perhaps it9s simply a
problem typical of any huge
organization 4 government
or otherwise. Too big. Not
very nimble. Rarely open to
creative thought. More, like
any organization with thou-
sands of employees, a pon-
derous giant; slow to evolve
but friendly and doing the
best it can. I understand
that. I appreciate the chal-
lenges. But, I am still really
frustrated!
Arthur Pope is the direc-
tor of Wilderness Report
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.